Top ten Goals of messi.
It is always surprising when looking at a list of the worlds highest paid athletes that more soccer players are not higher up on the list. Sure, nobody can touch Tiger Woods, and there are plenty of American athletes that have a combination of huge contract and huge endorsement deals, but it is time some of the world’s best footballers started climbing the income list. David Beckham will always be there because of his global icon status, but this year the world’s highest paid footballer was a diminutive Argentine genius by the name of Lionel Messi.
Messi is such a quiet and inauspicious figure outside of the game that you would never guess he made somewhere in the region of $44 million last year. Shy almost to the point of being reclusive, Messi is the rare modern day athlete who seems to live with the attention he gets as opposed to craving it. From his humble beginnings in Grandoli, Argentina, to becoming one of the highest paid athletes in the world, Messi has managed to retain his sense of place in life, and you honestly feel he would play football for free if asked to.
Put him on the field however, and you can see why the money comes raining in. Many young Argentines are given the label of the next Maradona. From Ariel Ortega to Juan Roman Riquelme, these players seemingly burdened by the pressure of a nation fail to live up to the level of talent they possess, Messi though is a different story altogether. Strikingly similar in height and build to his ex-National team boss, Messi has the same ability to simply glide around defenders as if they aren’t even there. His mix of balance, agility, and speed, when mixed with underappreciated strength, make him a beast to knock off the ball, and when he is in full stride it is something to behold.
It is hard to believe, but at 23 Messi still has all his best years in front of him. Last year he was named the La Liga player of the year for the third season in a row and he scored an astonishing 47 goals in all competitions for his club side. In one Champions League against English side Arsenal he completely took over the game and was undefendable as he floated around the field scoring all of Barcelona’s goals in a 4-1 demolition job. If this is just a prelude of the player he can become then he may move even higher on the list of world’s highest paid athletes.
Messi has a huge deal with Barcelona who broke the bank in 2009 to secure his services until 2016. The deal works out to be in the range of $18 million per year with image rights and shirt sales on top of that base figure. In addition, Messi has numerous personal sponsors and endorsement deals, including Konami and Adidas, which add to his monetary haul. All in all it is easy to see how Leo Messi has become the world’s highest paid footballer in 2010.
